Prisoners of Fate
by Ann McDermott
Summary: It is set after book 4, Severus's wife and children come to hogwarts. Explains why severus became a spy.


1 Chapter 1  
  
Severus Snape, Rumus Lupin, Sirius Black, Harry Potter, and Professor Dumbledore were in Dumbledore's office. The door opened and a woman in her thirty's and two teenagers walked in. When they had entered Dumbledore said, "I would like to introduce everyone to Ann McDermott and her children, Brandon and Eliza."  
  
Snape looked at Ann. She was more beautiful than he remembered, if that was possible. He looked at Brandon and Eliza. His children. He still remembered the day Ann left. She had hated Voldmort and had threatened to leave several times. He had never believed her and had joined Voldmort anyway. She had stayed with him for two years after he joined, trying to get in to switch sides. Then one night she just left and took Brandon and Eliza with her.  
  
He turned and looked at Eliza. She looked a lot like Ann. The only differences were that she had black hair instead of golden brown and green eyes instead of blue. She was about 15.  
  
He looked back at Ann. She was looking at him. Her dark blue eyes gazed into his questioningly. Dumbledore had told him that he was on their side this time. He wished he knew what she thought of him.  
  
♣  
  
Ann walked in to Dumbledore's office. She heard him introduce them. She looked at Severus. So much had happened since they had last seen each other. It seemed hard to believe that Severus was on their side this time. She had been told that he was on their side, and that he had been a spy for Dumbledore before Voldmort's downfall.  
  
She still remembered the night that she had left. Severus had gone to a meeting with Voldmort. She had been secretly packing a trunk and shrinking it so Severus would not find it. She had worn her scarlet dress; it reminded her that she was a Gryfindor. And Gryfindors were brave. She had put the trunk in a pocket and, carrying Eliza, walked with Brandon outside to the sidewalk. Once there, she had taken the Knight Bus to Hogsmead station and walked to Hogwarts.  
  
She had used the fireplace in Dumbledore's office to enter Tara. Tara was the home of the High King of Ireland, but when the last High King died one of his relatives enchanted the castle and made it assessable only to his descendants. The only ways to enter it are by the fireplace in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts or by going to were it stood and saying a secret phrase while touching one of the stones. She had chosen to go through Hogwarts because it would be impossible for the death eaters, especially Severus, to discover were she had gone.  
  
She had lived at Tara with Brandon and Eliza ever since. She taught Brandon and Eliza from her old school books. Dumbledore had sent her anything they needed from the outside. He was the only other person who could enter Tara. There was a spell she could cast on any she wanted to give permission to enter Tara and she had cast the spell on him the night she left. She looked at Severus. She wished she knew what he was thinking. At one point in time she could have guessed fairly accurately, but not now, too much had happened.  
  
♣  
  
"Miss McDermott will be teaching Muggle history and assisting Professor Snape with the potions classes," Dumbledore said. Snape looked at Ann, She was looking at him, and he could tell she had not been told that she would be working with him. He had requested that Dumbledore have her assist him with potions because he remembered that she had been extremely good at potions. He also thought that it would give him a good opportunity to prove that he had change.  
  
♣  
  
She looked at Severus, wondering why she would be working with him. She looked at Eliza and Brandon, they knew that Severus was their father, but they had not seen him since they had left. She had taught them that Severus was not evil. That he had not realized that Voldmort was evil. She knew that they did not hate him, but they did not understand why. She hoped he would explain to them why he had joined Voldmort, and why he had ignored her threats to leave.  
  
♣  
  
He watched as Sirius and Lupin walked over and introduced themselves. Ann smiled and introduced Brandon and Eliza to them. Everyone looked at Snape, he noticed and walked over. Ann looked at him and smiled faintly. He took her hand and kissed it like he did when they first meet. "Ann, it is nice to see you again." "It's nice to see you also, how are you?" She looked at him intently "I am fine." "Wound you mind escorting me to my quarters, I would like to unpack." "It would be and honor."  
  
♣  
  
As they walked to her room she began to wonder why Severus was being so nice to her. Why he and said nothing about Brandon and Eliza. "Severus, why is Dumbledore having me assist the potions classes?" "Because I asked him to." "Oh, well…why did you do that?" "Because you good at potions, and because…I know that you can be trusted to keep my true loyalties secret." "Severus," "Yes," "Why did you become a spy?" There was a long pause and she wondered if he was going to answer. She was about to change the subject when he said, "I became a spy because I realized that you were right. It was the night you left. Voldmort had a few of us go and kill a muggle family. They had a daughter. She was hiding in her room when I found her. She looked like you did when we first meet. I had her hide and cast a spell on her so the others would not here her crying. Then I went and told them that she was not in the house, that she was probably in hiding." He paused for a few moments, then, "We did not see Voldmort that night. I returned home to find that you had left. I searched d the area and tried to find out where you had gone. The next night Voldmort called a meeting. He had found out that the girl had been in the house. Needless to say he was not pleased." He paused again, "I remember wishing that he had chosen the Avadra Kadava. You probably think I did not have a heart, but I did have one and it broke the night you left." The last part was said in a whisper, but to her it was the loudest thing he said. She turned to him, threw her arms around his neck, and started crying. He was startled at first, but he put his arms around her and held her while she cried.  
  
♣  
  
"Why did you become a spy?" He paused for a few moments thinking about what he was going to say. Then he told her about what had happened the night she left. When he finished she turned to him and threw her arms around his neck. He was startled at first. He had not expected her to be this upset. He put his arm around her and held her. After a few minutes she stopped crying. 


End file.
